Ubuntu 26.10 can be installed from PowerShell as a separate WSL 2 distribution using the official .wsl image. This example is for an x64 Windows machine with WSL 2 already working.
When I checked the available distributions, Ubuntu 26.10 was missing from wsl --list --online. The official Ubuntu release directory provides an AMD64 WSL image that can be installed directly.
Check WSL
Run these commands in PowerShell to check WSL and list the installed and available distributions:
wsl --status
wsl --list --verbose
wsl --list --online
My existing distribution was named UbuntuA and used WSL 2. The commands below install another distribution named Ubuntu-26.10. Choose a different name if that name is already in use.
The installed WSL version must support --from-file and --name; check wsl --help. If these options are missing, update WSL with wsl --update before continuing.
Download and install Ubuntu 26.10
Download the official AMD64 WSL image to the Windows temporary directory, then install it:
$image = Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\ 'ubuntu-26.10-wsl-amd64.wsl'
Invoke-WebRequest `
-Uri 'https://releases.ubuntu.com/26.10/ubuntu-26.10-wsl-amd64.wsl' `
-OutFile $image `
-ErrorAction Stop
wsl --install --from-file $image --name Ubuntu-26.10 --version 2
This image is for Intel and AMD x64 PCs. On an ARM64 Windows machine, select the corresponding ARM64 WSL image instead.
Follow the first-run prompts to create a Linux user and password. No characters appear while you type the password.
Update packages and check the Ubuntu version
Inside the new Ubuntu shell, run:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
cat /etc/os-release
The VERSION_ID value should be 26.10. Use exit to return to PowerShell.
Start the new distribution
To launch Ubuntu 26.10 later from PowerShell:
wsl -d Ubuntu-26.10
To check the installed distributions and their WSL versions:
wsl --list --verbose
The new distribution should appear with VERSION set to 2. This column identifies the WSL version; use /etc/os-release inside Linux to check the Ubuntu release. The existing UbuntuA distribution remains separate.
Optionally make Ubuntu 26.10 the default
To make a plain wsl command launch the new distribution:
wsl --set-default Ubuntu-26.10
See the Ubuntu installation guide and Microsoft WSL command reference for additional details.
